Two men shot in 12 hours

Two men are at present warded at the Port of Spain General Hospital after they were both shot in separate incidents between Thursday night and yesterday morning.

The latest incident took place around 10.30 a.m. yesterday along Cizan Trace, Blue Basin, Diego Martin.

According to police reports, Brandon Hinds, 21, of Cizan Trace, was sitting at the corner of Cizan Trace and Waterwheel Road with a group of men, when they were approached by an unknown individual.

Without warning, the assailant pulled out a firearm and began shooting at the group before fleeing the scene on foot.

In the hail of gunfire, the group’s members all scam­pered. However, it was said that as Hinds ran for cover, he felt an intense burning sensation in the lower left side of his neck.

Upon checking he realised blood was flowing from an injury he had received.

Hinds and his friends managed to flag down a vehicle and the driver rushed the injured man to St James Medical Complex, where he was treated before being transferred to the general hospital.

The police were notified and a party of officers, including Insp Thomas, Cpl Linton and PC Joseph, visited the scene.

Police said they were informed by doctors the bullet passed through the lower part of Hinds’s neck, but left fragments behind.

Hinds was said to be in a stable but serious condition, and doctors were expected to determine if they would operate to remove the fragments yesterday afternoon.

Sources also said they had received key information into the shooting and arrests were expected shortly.

About 12 hours earlier, Western Division Task Force officers also responded to reports of a shooting in Patna Village, Diego Martin.

According to police reports, a party of officers were conducting mobile patrols in the area when, upon reaching the vicinity of the Patna Village Recreation Grounds, they heard several loud explosions.

When the officers approached the nearby savannah, they found a man standing along the roadway holding his right arm close to his body.

The police stopped to question the individual and realised he had been shot.

The wounded man, who has since been identified as 35-year-old Matthew Pope, of Blue Basin Road, Diego Martin, was rushed to the medical complex, where he was treated before being transferred to the general hospital.

Western Division Task Force officers received certain information and conducted several searches last night for Pope’s shooter. However, they were unable to locate the individual.

Despite this, police said they had “key information” which they were pursuing to find the suspect.